Orchards across the county and state are reporting staggering lows for apple production following record-setting high temperatures in March that resulted in trees growing and flowering much earlier in the year.

"Then we had a normal cool-down in April and a number of frost and freezes and April 29 it got down to 25 degrees for five or six hours and that took the crop," said Bob Tritten, district fruit educator with MSU Extension.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has estimated the state's harvest for this year to be about 2.5 million bushels, an 89 percent drop from the year before.

The last time similar weather was blamed for wiping out the area's apple crop was 1945.

"In my 33 years of experience, I've never, ever seen orchards that consist of hundreds of acres that didn't have one apple," Tritten said. "This wasn't only an east Michigan phenomenon, it was across the state. The net result was that we have about 10 percent of a normal apple crop in Michigan."

To avoid a loss, local orchards are getting apples from the west side of the Mitten, where the proximity to Lake Michigan and hilly terrain yielded a much better crop.

Farmers also are obtaining some apples from eastern Pennsylvania, Virginia and Washington, Tritten said.

Wholesale, a bin of apples is 18 bushels, and would cost about $150 for a grower, he said.

A bushel of apples is 42 pounds.

That same bin is now up to $350, Tritten said.

"Local orchards, to have apples, they've gone and paid a high price for apples around the state and other parts of the country," he said. "They want to maintain the family farm and they want to do what they have to do."

The owners of Koan's Orchard in Flushing wants customers to know the fall events, such as the Art and Craft Fair held later this month, will go on and they will have Michigan apples and cider.

The orchard lost its apple crop, but was able to obtain a variety from farmers on the west side of the state. However, supplies are limited.

The plans are to keep the orchard open to the public until about Christmas, but it may go month-to-month after that, owner Pat Koan said.

"It's just that the apples won't be as available," Koan said. "Everything is the same."

Montrose Orchards in Montrose will also have apples and cider available despite the shortage, and as well as hayrides and pumpkins, owner Dan Hill said.

Hill said his father remembers the shortage of ‘45, but there are always going to be years where a crop is damaged from a drop in temperatures.

"It's out of your hands completely," he said of this year's crop. "Big or small, it's an all or nothing kind of thing. You just ride through it."

Prices are much firmer than normal for this time of year, but Hill said he thinks they could change because there is still a lot of harvesting going on.

"I don't know if the market has settled on a price," he said. "It's going to depend on the variety because not all the varieties got hit as hard.

"We've got a lot of fall events planned and we are buying apples, so it's still going to be a good fall. We'll have pumpkins, the apple crop is down so prices are up, but it doesn't stop everything else that is going on."